This story is by Miguel A. Zamora and was part of our 2018 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
18-Jan 1320 Warehouse
“The warehouse is cold and damp, floodlights are placed all around the warehouse. It smelled like fish. Hatch figured he was by the docks at one of the abandoned caners. Paulo and his three goons are circling Hatch who is on his knees. They each take turns hitting the Hatch in the face. Hatch coughs up blood, smiling back at them.
“You think you belong with us, you’re weak and she deserves better than you,” Paulo says.
He hits the Hatch in the face again and again. One of his goon Tiny hits him in the back with a baseball bat. Hatch falls on all fours. Tiny hits him again and the Hatch falls flat, and the goons start to kick him.
“That’s enough men… put him on his knees” a woman says.
Two of the men lift Hatch to his knees. In a tight short black dress and three-inch heel Lexie walks toward them. Her caramel skin and her Latin feature makes her a woman most men dream about.
They step back from Hatch as the Lexie comes closer.
“Hatch tell me who you work for and all this pain can end,” she says.
Hatch starts to laugh, and spits blood across her heels. “I don’t know I kind of like it…love.” She knees him in the face and he shake his head and starts to laugh again.
“Funny, you said you loved and trusted me with your life, Lexie.”
Lexie reaches down and lifts Hatch’s head by his chin, she wipes the blood from his mouth and gives him a kiss.
“I trust you but my father that’s another thing,” she says.
“Tell your father all he had to do was ask me because I don’t take a bullet for anyone and I took four for you.”
Hatch stumbles to his feet and the four men close in as Lexie steps back and smiles, and heads toward the door.
“I’ll tell you one thing, love… make sure you have a hot bath ready for when I’m done here.”
Lexie starts to laugh as she looks back at him and says, “Don’t take too long Love.”
Lexie leaves and the men start to advance on Hatch and are taken out by three men in tac suits, holding AR 15s.
“Operator 2117z it’s good to see you,” Rick said.
“Rick.”
“What took you so, long?”
“Why, you in a hurry?” he asked. He continued “We had to wait till your girlfriend was gone.”
“Besides you‘ve been under 6 years you can’t wait a day Operator 2117z?
“A day?”
“Well, Hatch we were able to get Operator 3211c, 4578p, 2234r into the other three families,” Rick says. “Word from the top is to eliminate all four families at one time. No one lives… no one understands.”
Hatch looks back at Rick with a puzzled look. “That’s not what we do.”
“Through the intel we gathered by eliminating the four families, we cut the head of the snake off for good,” he says.
Hatch shakes his head as he starts to pace.
“I told you I would not cross that line again, Rick.”
“I know but it wasn’t my call and how did I know you would fall for her,” he said.
Hatch lets out a scream and kicks one of the dead men.
“Hatch puts yourself together man,” he says.
“Just great.”
Rick reaches into his pocket and pulls out a photo and hands it to Hatch. Hatch opens the folded-up photo and then refolds it. He reaches into his pocket, opens his lighter and burns the paper.
“Is this going to prevent you from doing your job” he asked.
Hatch spits blood by Ricks feet and turns and walks out.
“I like him,” he says with a grin.
El Rey’s compound
Hatch walks into a large bathhouse. His clothes are covered in blood and torn, his knuckles are rubbed raw and bruised. He has a deep gash on his forehead that is still bleeding. Lexie is lying nude on the edge of a hot bath. Hatch grins and starts to undress and gets into the tub and Lexie starts to kiss him. He pulls her into the bath with him and they continue to kiss.
“Did you kill them?” she asked. He looks at her and smiles. “What did you do with the bodies?”
“I burned the building to the ground.”
“You what?” she pulls away from him as she asks.
“Fire purifies everything, and it destroys all… don’t worry there won’t be anything left. I’m sure the building won’t be linked to your father.”
“I guess he is going to need a new number two.”
She smiles as she licks his nose with the tip of her tongue. “He already has” she says as she re-adjusts herself on top of him.
“You still leaving for London in the morning?”
“Yes,” she says as she draws closer to him.
Walking into El Rey’s office was like walking into Tony Montana’s Living room from Scarface. It felt expensive and cheap all at the same time. El Rey even dressed like Montana in a white suit and all. Hatch had never officially been in this room. It felt different in the day time with the lights on, not walking around in the dark with a flash light.
“I see you passed my test,” El Rey says.
Hatch laughs. “It cost you, four good men.”
“Not good enough if you were able to take them out after they beat on you for hours,” he says. “Take a seat, can I pour you a drink?
Hatch walks over and sits across from El Rey’s Desk. “No thanks.”
“I forgot you don’t drink… I don’t know if I can trust a man that doesn’t drink,” He says as he sits.
“What can I say.”
Hatch looks around at the eight heavy armed men in suits around the room. “Why all the hardware?” El Rey starts to laugh as Hatch feels a suppressor pressed to the back of his head.
“I never had anyone take four bullets to save my life, just so he could fuck me to get close to my father… and by the way you sometimes talk in you sleep” Lexie says.
“You were good. I really believed in you and I know my daughter loved you and you betrayed us,” El Rey says as he slams his hand on his desk. “I have eyes everywhere and when the other families fell this morning I knew my baby was right about you.”
Lexie pushes the gun harder against Hatch’s head.
“I tell you what. You sure play the long game 6 years working to get here, you are dedicated, I give you that and loyal. I think it’s fitting that you take one more bullet… this time from my lovely Lexie” he says with a big grin.
“Well, you know what they say love makes you do strange things.
“You broke my Heart love,” Lexie says. Hatch closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
“You should have gone to London.”
“You failed my friend, and I just became the most powerful man in the world.”
Hatch throws himself to the left drawing two Sig Saur P260 and shoots two of the men on his left. Lexie shoots at her father as he ducks under his desk catching a round in his neck. She turns her Glock towards the men and shoots two the men still confused from what had just happened. She ducks under the desk as gunfire comes from the other remaining men. Hatch is able to work his way behind the other men and he shoots them in the back.
“Clear.”
Lexie stands up from under the desk and walks over to her father who is propped up against his desk holding on to his neck. Hatch walks over behind Lexie and smiles as he kisses her on the back of the neck.
“Why mija?” El Rey asked as he gasps for air.
“I was thinking about my family” she says as she reaches for Hatch’s hand and puts it on her stomach.
“your…” Lexie shoots him in the head before he can finish.
“I told you it would be that easy, love now we are rich we can live anywhere and be anyone we want and raises our family,” Lexie said.
Hatch turns Lexie around puts his hands against her cheek and kisses her.
“You know I had family once and your father had them killed.”
Hatch winks at her as he snaps her neck. He lays her on the desk and folds her arms over her stomach and kisses her forehead. Hatch takes a few bottles from the bar and pours them on the floor as he walks to the door. He drops the empty bottles and flicks his lighter.
“Bye love.”
He throws the lighter on the floor and flames shoot upward.
“Fire cleans everything.”
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